Kim Dotcom Speaks at NZ Protest Rally, Crowd Cheers

Meet the new Kim Dotcom, New Zealand activist for privacy rights, fighting against expansion of government surveillance and U.S. drone strikes and for the rights of whistleblowers.

Kim Dotcom spoke at a rally of thousands of New Zealanders (video here) who had gathered to voice their opposition to a bill expanding Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB)surveillance authority and information sharing with law enforcement.

Dotcom said it was very important for people to understand the GCSB is a subsidiary of the NSA and spying for the Americans, feeding them information for its war on terror to locate targets for drone strikes.

Dotcom tells the crowd the U.S. didn't want him spied upon because they thought he was a terrorist or a threat to national security, but because a handful of billionaires in Hollywood didn't like his business. The crowd cheers its approval. He asks, "Why would they spy on me?" [More...]

He says he has given tools to people that allow them to save money and use the internet the way its supposed to be used. The crowd cheers. He says he has been treated like he is a drug lord or a terrorist, they terrorized his family and invaded his privacy. He says if they can do that to him, they can do that to any of you.

He calls the United States the "most power hungry country out there." A lone voice yells out "and corrupt." He then lashes into NZ Prime Minister John Key, and crowd cheers louder.

He gives a shout-out to Edward Snowden, and shouts, "Edward Snowden is a hero." He says we must support all whistleblowers. The crowd cheers wildly.

The segment ends with him shouting, "I will never settle my case." He will fight to the end. The crowd roars.

He really does a larger than life quality about him -- he even needs two microphones to address the crowd.

He also doesn't hesitate to poke fun at himself. After the rally, he posted this article on Twitter about New Zealand immigration refusing to extend a couple's visa because the man was overweight, which would be a drain on the country's health services:

An INZ spokesman said Buitenhuis was rejected because his obesity put him at "significant risk" of complications including diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and obstructive sleep apnoea.

It is important that all migrants have an acceptable standard of health to minimise costs and demands on New Zealand's health services," he said.

The article also says NZ has the third largest obese population of the world's developed countries-- behind only the U.S. and Mexico.

tuck tuck driver in Bhubaneswar for a 100 Rupee fare. He held it in his hands and stared at it, as did the hotel employee at the curb. Fortunately, when I exclaimed, may I see that, he handed it back to me. I explained what it was and pointed out Ben Franklin. They wanted to know how many Rupees: 5,904.55. At a minimum, this is about the India average monthly wage, but most certainly not for a tuck tuck driver. I thanked him for his honesty.

His weight had no bearing in his immigration hearing. Must be a new thing.

He is a large-framed man, 2 metres (6 ft 7 in) tall, and weighs more than 130 kilograms (290 lb). He also is a German-Finn. Like B..

He was granted permanent residence in New Zealand on 29 November 2010.[24] At the time his residency application was being considered, Dotcom had made charitable contributions in New Zealand and was planning a huge fireworks show for the city of Auckland at a cost of NZ$600,000.

He applied for residency, which was granted in November 2010. The decision was made by the New Zealand Immigration Department despite his foreign convictions and despite being persona non grata in Thailand, after officials used a special direction to waive "good character" requirements. Warwick Tuck, head of New Zealand Immigration, said Dotcom was granted residency under the investor plus category, which allows people to gain residency if they invest $10 million in New Zealand.[36] It was anticipated that Dotcom would contribute to New Zealand through investment, consumption and philanthropic activities - he had already given $50,000 to the mayoral fund following the Christchurch earthquake, another $50,000 to a rugby player who was left in a wheelchair after an on-field injury and funded a $600,000 fireworks display in Auckland harbour.[35] Mr Tuck says Dotcom disclosed his previous convictions and these had been considered;[36] they occurred more than 16 years earlier and did not involve harming anyone. Dotcom also told Immigration NZ his convictions had been "erased" from his record under Germany's clean slate legislation.[37]

Despite granting him residency, Immigration was concerned their decision would attract criticism that they had allowed Dotcom to buy his way into the country and officials tried to keep it a secret. His application was red-flagged by officials: "We are requesting that this application be kept as confidential as possible to avoid further media speculation or attention."[35] Dotcom's residency status subsequently became the subject of intense media speculation when it came to light that the mayor of Auckland, John Banks, became involved and New Zealand's intelligence services had spied on him (see below) - which they were not allowed to do because he had residency.

Two months after he was granted residency, Dotcom was convicted in Hong Kong on several counts of failing to disclose his shareholding levels and fined 8000 Hong Kong dollars. New Zealand immigration authorities judged the convictions too minor to consider deporting him.